Determining the cause of death with 解剖

Kanji Explanation: Separating and understanding with 解

Inspector Megure suggests the murder suspect committed suicide by drowning himself. The medical examiner disagrees.

監察医(かんさつい):: 「ですが死因(しいん)は溺死(できし)ではありません…」; “However, drowning wasn't the cause of death...”
目暮(めぐれ):: 「え？」; “What?”
監察医(かんさつい):: 「解剖(かいぼう)してみないと断定(だんてい)できませんが…　おそらく毒物(どくぶつ)を飲(の)んだあと池(いけ)に入(はい)ったものと…」; “I can't say for certain without an autopsy... but it's likely he took poison and then entered the pond...”; Literal: “I can't determine it unless we try an autopsy... but perhaps he entered the pond after drinking poison...”

Key Points

1解剖(かいぼう) here means an autopsy

In this scene, 解剖(かいぼう) is a medical examination of the body after death.
The examiner needs it to determine the true cause of death, not just the apparent one.

2してみないと = unless we actually try doing it

解剖(かいぼう)してみないと adds the sense of “unless we go ahead and perform one”.
The 〜てみる part is not “try for fun” here; it means carrying out the procedure to check.

死因 (Cause of death): 死因(しいん) is the illness, injury, or event that caused someone to die. It is common in medical reports, police investigations, and legal records.
溺死 (Drowning death): 溺死(できし) is death caused by drowning.
解剖 (Dissection): 解剖(かいぼう) means dissecting a body to study its internal structure. Figuratively, it means analyzing something in detail.
見る (To see): 見(み)る means to see or look at something. It can also mean to examine its condition or nature.
断定 (Definite conclusion): 断定(だんてい) means stating or judging something as definite.
毒物 (Poisonous substance): 毒物(どくぶつ) means a poisonous substance that can damage health or cause death.